Fabric napping mechanism



June 12, 1956 w. N. HADLEY FABRIC NAPPING MECHANISM Filed Jan. 11, 1955 Fig. 2

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INVENTOR. WILFRED N. HADLEY W ,hmmw We? 7 ATTORNEYS United States Patent FABRIC NAPPING MECHANISM Wilfred N. Hadley, Springfield, Vt., assignor to Parks & Woolson Machine Co., Springfield, Vt., a corporation of Vermont Application January 11, 1955, Serial No. 481,176

2 Claims. (CI. 26-29) This invention relates to fabric napping mechanism employing pile and counterpile napping rolls, commonly called Workers, mounted to rotate on fixed axes and having napping needles at their peripheries adapted to receive and support a fabric strip fed arcuately over the rolls and lift fibres to the surface of the fabric to produce a desired nap. The napping is effected by the opposing action of the pile and counterpile workers on the fabric and the quality and character of the finish produced is largely dependent on the uniformity and maintenance of this opposing relation.

Fabric napping has heretofore been commonly performed by driving the pile Workers directly from contact of the fabric therewith and the counterpile workers by chain driving connections to the pile workers. The placing of the driving load on the fabric has numerous objections and in my Patent No. 2,698,476, dated January 4, 1955, I propose driving the pile workers and counterpile workers by independent and variable power sources, thus taking the load off the fabric and eliminating the said fabric driving objections.

I have now discovered that various further advantages are obtained by driving certain and preferably all of the workers from and synchronously with the fabric feeding mechanism. The vertical high speed napper employing my invention is constructed in units adapted to be joined to provide the desired number of workers. Each unit embodies two vertical banks of workers together with a power operated drum at each bank for drawing the fabric over and in contact with its workers. My invention contemplates driving the pile workers or counterpile workers or both in each bank from its fabric feeding drum, thereby relieving the fabric of the driving load, automatically synchronizing the driving with the stretching and feeding of the fabric and producing a better nap, all as hereinafter more specifically described.

These and other features of the invention will be best understood and appreciated from the following description of a preferred embodiment thereof selected for purposes of illustration and shown in the accompanying drawing in which- Fig. l is a fragmentary side elevation of a fabric napping machine embodying my invention,

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary front elevation thereof,

Fig. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary view of a pair of napping rolls employed in the machine, and

Fig. 4 is an enlarged end view of a pair of napping rolls having connecting means for driving one from the other and adapted to be employed in a modified form of the invention.

In the drawing indicates the frame of a napping machine within which are supported for rotation on fixed and parallel axes two vertical banks A and B of napping rolls. As illustrated, each bank contains eight napping rolls or workers arranged in four pairs disposed in vertical alignment, providing sixteen napping rolls in the machine illustrated. The fabric is drawn over the rolls by power driven drums also rotatably mounted in the ice frame and any number of such machines can be joined and employed to operate successively on the strip of fabric illustrated. Each bank and its operating mechanism correspond substantially to the others and description of one will therefore suffice.

The four pairs of worker rolls in bank B respectively comprise forward pile workers 12 and rearward counterpile workers 14, and a power operated drum 15 is providecl for moving the fabric F over the rolls in the direction indicated by the arrows. Each bank has a like drum for moving the fabric over its rolls and the parts in bank A corresponding to those in bank B are indicated by like reference characters primed. The stripof fabric F is drawn through the entire machine by drums 15, 15, etc., and, as is customary in machines of this nature, the first drum engaged by the advancing fabric is positively driven and each subsequent drum is driven from the previous drum through a frictional drive connection and at a slightly greater peripheral speed. This construction and arrangement compensates for fabric stretch and provides for moving the fabric through each bank of rolls by the power operated drum disposed respectively ahead of the bank, all as and for the purpose hereinafter more fully described.

After passing through the bank A the fabric passes from the drum 15' to a guiding roll 16 and from thence over rolls 18 disposed to support the fabric in arcuate contact with the pairs of workers 12 and 14. From thence the fabric passes over a guiding roll 20, the drum 15 and a guiding roll 22, and then outwardly of the machine or to the next bank of Worker rolls.

The function of each pair of Worker rolls is to engage the fabric by the needles, Fig. 3, and pull out the fibers as the needles leave the fabric. To this end the pile workers 12 function to hold or retard movement of the fabric against the action of the counterpile workers 14 which latter operate at a slightly greater peripheral speed and somewhat stretch the fabric.

speed of the fabric.

12 from the drum 15, as by a chain 24 guided around: sprockets 26 by idlers 28 and around the drum 15 by idlers 30. Thus the workers 12 are uniformly driven at predetermined speed directly from the drum,

The counterpile Workers 14 must also be driven syn-- chronously With the speed of the fabric but at a slightly greater speed to efiect the napping function. Furthermore, the degree of greater speed required will vary in accordance with the character of the fabric being treated and the character of napping desired. In accordance with my invention the counterpile workers 14 can be driven by any suitable source of power through speed variable means, as in my said patent 2,698,476. However, in the preferred form of the invention these Workers are also driven from the drum 15.

As illustrated in the drawing, the power intake 32 of a variable speed transmission 54 is driven from the drum 15 through a chain 36 guided by idlers 38. The power output 4 drives a chain 42 guided by idlers 44 to driven sprockets 46 aflixed to the workers 14. Thus the intake drive is synchronous with the fabric speed and the output speed can be varied as required by the adjustment at 43.

While in Figs. 1 and 2 I have illustrated the napping rolls 12 and 14 as driven directly from the drum 15, the rolls 14 being operated through the variable speed transmission 34, it Will be understood that other variations in which the drive to the rolls originates from the drum are within the scope of my invention. One such variation is indicated in Fig. 4 wherein the roll 12 of each pair of rolls is driven from its cooperating roll 14 through a chain 50 It will be apparent that the peripheral speed of the workers 12 must synchronize with and approximate or be slightly less than the To effect these functions automatically my invention contemplates the driving of the workers;

on sprockets 52 and 54 fixed to the rolls. In this case the drive 24 to the rolls 12 will be eliminated and the sprocket 52 will have one more tooth than the sprocket 54 whereby to drive the rolls 12 at a peripheral speed slightly slower than that of the rolls 14. Also while I preferably drive the rolls 14 from the drum 15 through the variable speed transmission 34, it will be apparent that such drive could be to the rolls 12 which in turn would then drive the rolls 14 through the chains 50. In any event the rolls are driven from the drum synchronously and at the relative and variable speeds indicated, the speed of workers 12 being slightly slower than the speed of the fabric whereby slightly to retard forward movement of the fabric and the speed of the workers 14 being slightly faster than the speed of the fabric whereby to stretch the fabric between the rolls and raise the nap thereon as the needles leave the fabric.

Heretofore difficulty has been experienced in napping operations due to the stretching of the farbic, the result of such stretching causing slackness in the fabric which varies its speed of movement over the napping rolls. While the speed of the fabric at the forward banks of rolls would be correct, the speed at subsequent rolls would be incorrect, due to fabric stretch, and thereby result in improper napping, tearing and wrapping of the fabric around the rolls. My invention herein automatically corrects this difiiculty by locally synchronizing each bank of workers with its fabric feeding drum, whereby all workers operate uniformly on the fabric and produce a superior and uniform nap, it being understood that the drums subsequent to the first drum are driven through frictional driving connections and at slightly increased speeds that take up the slack in the fabric.

Having thus disclosed my invention what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

l. Fabric napping mechanism comprising a plurality of banks of napping rolls, each bank comprising spaced and parallel napping rolls arranged in a plurality of pairs, each napping roll including a plurality of Wire needles anchored thereto and extending outwardly thereof and having hook-like and fabric penetrating free ends pointing in the same direction eircuinferentially of the roll, said free ends on the rolls of each pair pointing respectively in opposite directions, means supporting the rolls for rotation on fixed axes, cooperating rolls disposed to support a fabric strip in arcuate contact with the pairs of rolls, a rotatably mounted drum at each bank disposed to receive the fabric strip and draw it over the rolls of its bank, means rotatably connecting one roll of each pair in each bank to its drum, power operated means for rotating the other rolls of the pairs in each bank, and means for varying the relative speeds of said one and other rolls in each bank.

2. Fabric napping mechanism comprising a bank of spaced and parallel napping rolls arranged in a plurality of pairs, each napping roll including a plurality of wire needles anchored thereto and extending outwardly thereof and having hook-like and fabric penetrating free ends pointing in the same direction circumferentially of the roll, said free ends on the rolls of each pair pointing respectively in opposite directions, means supporting the rolls for rotation on fixed axes, cooperating rolls disposed to support a fabric strip in arcuate contact with the pairs of rolls, a rotatably mounted drum disposed to receive the fabric strip and draw it over the rolls, means including a speed changing transmission rotatably connecting corresponding rolls comprising one roll of each pair to the drum for rotation therefrom in the fabric-moving and needle penetrating direction synchronously and at predetermined variable speeds, and power operated means including said drum for rotating the other rolls of said pairs synchronously and at a relatively different peripheral speed.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,368,096 Barker Feb. 8, 1921 1,390,093 Cucumel Sept. 6, 1921 2,117,079 Bulford May 10, 1938 2,698,476 Hadley Jan. 4, 1955 

